James Sidney - Smasher!: the life of Sid James

by Robert Ross

Nighty Night
In memory of Jack Douglas Jackson:
This one is for you, my friend.

First published in 2009

by JR Books, part of Aurum Press Ltd

7477 White Lion Street, London, N1 9PF

www.aurumpress.co.uk

This eBook edition first published in 2014

Copyright 2009, 2014 Robert Ross

Robert Ross has asserted his moral right to be identified as the Author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

eBook conversion by Quayside Publishing Group

Digital edition: 978-1-78131-3-381
Softcover edition: 978-1-90753-2-160

A fter a hilarious chat with Bernard Cribbins, in connection with this book, I thanked the friend and national treasure for his memories. My pleasure, Robert, he replied, its been lovely to remember Sid like that. It is a thought echoed time and time again over the years when, in the company of someone who had encountered Sid, I relentlessly and doggedly steered the conversation round to the great man.

It is no surprise to many people to discover that Sid James is my all-time favourite actor. Hes also among my all-time favourite people although, alas, I never met him. He is a role model. And a hero. The most endearing of all heroes: one with feet of clay and the spirit of the common man forever coursing through his veins.

For shared stories of Sid represented in this affectionate biography, I wholeheartedly thank: Robin Askwith, Roy Ward Baker, Amanda Barrie, Kitty Black, Roy Castle OBE, Diana Coupland, Bernard Cribbins, Jim Dale MBE, Vera Day, Clive Doig, Angela Douglas, Jack Douglas, Shirley Eaton, Myfanwy Evans, Harry Fowler MBE, Liz Fraser, Hugh Futcher, Ray Galton OBE, Sally Geeson, Fred Griffiths, Carol Hawkins, Geoffrey Hutchings, Anthony Jackson, Valerie James, Dilys Laye, Olga Lowe, Keith Marsh, Bill Maynard, Norman Mitchell, Denis Norden, Milo OShea, Lilly Payne, Doctor Saul Pelle, Lance Percival, Vince Powell, Wendy Richard MBE, Peter Rogers, Patsy Rowlands, Francis Searle, Alan Simpson OBE, Penny Spencer, Victor Spinetti, Julie Stevens, William G. Stewart, Gerald Thomas, June Whitfield CBE and Barbara Windsor MBE.

Also, sincere thanks to the British Film Institute, both the library and, in particular, Janet Moat and the girls of the Special Materials. Rachel Lawson and Louise North at the BBC Written Archive Centre, Caversham Park, Reading. Melanie Clark for being both my Valerie and my Barbara, and Stephanie Payne for her kind words and support. As usual, Alan Coles and Henry Holland for keeping me grounded, confident and ever so slightly and delightfully unsteady in various Soho public houses. And, last but by no means least, my agent Marcella Edwards at Peters Fraser and Dunlop.

S id James was a paradox. He was the worlds best-loved cockney, but in reality he was born miles from the sound of Bow Bells. Thousands of miles, in fact: in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He was one of the most recognisable comedians of his day but he never told a joke. So inept was he, that he was terrified of fellow performers straying from the script. He just couldnt ad-lib.

He was the insecure, wood-touching gambler. The Jewish chancer who felt at home in the East End and became the embodiment of West End confidence and even found himself in the ultimate celebration of British Christianity, the Millennium Dome.

He was also a lover of the fairer sex and would tirelessly pursue the latest dolly bird cast in a film, stage show or television programme he was starring in, but he was also a devoted family man who doted on his Buckinghamshire domesticity.

More than anything else, Sid remained one of the lads, with the dirtiest laugh in film history and a face etched with the joint pleasures of whisky and sex. Well, where he comes from they cant get soda! Thats actually a line from Carry On Again, Doctor, but it sums up Sids public persona to perfection.

He was as surprised by his successful career as every casting director was. I didnt think I stood much chance with a mug like mine, he once admitted. A few thousand cases of gin, some boxing, late nights in my youth, hundreds of gee-gees and worry lines left by the taxman. But that was the secret of his success.

In 1973, at the age of 60, Sid was still Britains favourite funny man on the big screen. While Roger Moore was inheriting the mantle of James Bond, and Paul Newman and Robert Redford were leaping off a rugged cliff edge, Sid James could still hold his own.

Nobody would believe me, says Carry On co-star Jack Douglas, but Sid was a sex symbol. Hundreds of young girls would hang about outside the Victoria Palace when we came out after a performance of Carry On London!. They didnt want to know me. All these young girls were shouting out for Sid. They loved him!

Here was a drinker, a gambler and a womaniser. The perfect role model for the red-blooded male. And here was a dapper, gentlemanly star that tickled the girls in just the right place. Sid James was a clich. Men wanted to be like him, ladies wanted to know him: either as a father figure or a sugar daddy.

Reassuringly, Sids big film release for his 60th birthday was Carry On Girls. He was the wrinkly romantic surrounded by the brightest dolly birds in Britain; perfectly at home on location on and around Brighton beach. The situation couldnt have been more ideal.

Sid seemed to have the spirit of the seaside within his soul. He was the embodiment of the carefree holidaymaker who would happily blow a years savings on two weeks of candyfloss, kiss-me-quick hats and fish n chips straight from the newspaper. And he had become a valuable part of the British holiday, playing Great Yarmouth, Blackpool, Torquay and Bournemouth. Peddling easygoing, trouser-dropping, more-tea-vicar farce to a grateful nation.

In those heady, harmless days you could ride on the go-karts, snog behind the bandstand and see Sid James live on stage all on the same day!

In Carry On Girls there is something life affirming about the sight of Sid. Dressed in a Cecil Gee three-piece suit, he exudes confidence and worldly knowledge. His physique is that of the dancer and of the boxer he had been in his youth. The strain of a lifetime of hard-working, hard-living and the aftermath of a heart attack have clearly taken their toll. But the imperishable zest of Sid James seems undimmed. He is heading towards his pension at his own pace. The hair is slightly greyed but the face is alight with boyish mischief. The eyes twinkle with myriad experience and the fun of getting away with it. He may end the film with an empty back pocket but hes energetically clutching the prize that really matters to him: Barbara Windsor.

Sid was a smasher, recalls his closest of Carry On colleagues. I was feeling about a hundred-years-old when we made